Case‐based reasoning and improved adaptive search for project scheduling

Most scheduling problems are notoriously intractable, so the majority of algorithms for them are heuristic in nature. Priority rule‐based methods still constitute the most important class of these heuristics. Of these, in turn, parametrized biased random sampling methods have attracted particular interest, due to the fact that they outperform all other priority rule‐based methods known. Yet, even the “best” such algorithms are unable to relate to the full range of instances of a problem: Usually there will exist instances on which other algorithms do better. We maintain that asking for the one best algorithm for a problem may be asking too much. The recently proposed concept of control schemes, which refers to algorithmic schemes allowing to steer parametrized algorithms, opens up ways to refine existing algorithms in this regard and improve their effectiveness considerably. We extend this approach by integrating heuristics and case‐based reasoning (CBR), an approach that has been successfully used in artificial intelligence applications. Using the resource‐constrained project scheduling problem as a vehicle, we describe how to devise such a CBR system, systematically analyzing the effect of several criteria on algorithmic performance. Extensive computational results validate the efficacy of our approach and reveal a performance similar or close to state‐of‐the‐art heuristics. In addition, the analysis undertaken provides new insight into the behaviour of a wide class of scheduling heuristics. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 47: 201–222, 2000     

A metaheuristic scheduling procedure for resource-constrained projects with cash flows

Resource-constrained project scheduling problems with cash flows (RCPSPCF) are complex, combinatorial optimization problems. Many heuristics have been reported in the literature that produce reasonable schedules in limited project environments. However, the lack of a heuristic that dominates under differing project conditions can lead to a suboptimal choice of an appropriate heuristic for scheduling any given project. This may result in poor schedules and monetary losses. This paper reports on the application of the tabu search metaheuristic procedure for the RCPSPCF. Strategies for neighborhood generation and candidate selection that exploit the special features of the problem are combined with a simple multiheuristic start procedure. Extensive experimentation, with multiple data sets and comparison with an upper bound, indicates a significant improvement, both in project Net Present Value (NPV) as well as the number of projects, where the metaheuristic outperforms the best known heuristics in the literature. More specifically, this procedure produces the best schedules in over 85% of the projects tested, in contrast to the best single-pass heuristics which have been shown to dominate in at most 20% of the same cases. This iterative, general purpose heuristic is able to adapt significantly better to the complex interactions of the many critical parameters of the RCPSPCF than single-pass heuristics that use more specific information about each project environment. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 46: 912–927, 1999     

Minimizing makespan in a multimode multiprocessor shop scheduling problem

We study the problem of multimode scheduling tasks on dedicated processors, with the objective of minimizing the maximum completion time. Each task can be undertaken in one among a set of predefined alternative modes, where each mode specifies a required set of dedicated processors and a processing time. At any time each processor can be used by a single task at most. General precedence constraints exist among tasks, and task preemption is not allowed. The problem consists of assigning a mode and a starting time to each task, respecting processor and precedence constraints, to minimize the time required to complete all tasks. The problem is NP-hard in several particular cases. In previous works, we studied algorithms in which a solution was obtained by means of an iterative procedure that combines mode assignment and sequencing phases separately. In this paper, we present some new heuristics where the decision on the mode assignment is taken on the basis of a partial schedule. Then, for each task, the mode selection and the starting time are chosen simultaneously considering the current processor usage. Different lower bounds are derived from a mathematical formulation of the problem and from a graph representation of a particular relaxed version of the problem. Heuristic solutions and lower bounds are evaluated on randomly generated test problems. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 46: 893–911, 1999     

Minimizing total completion time in two-processor task systems with prespecified processor allocations

We consider the problem of scheduling multiprocessor tasks with prespecified processor allocations to minimize the total completion time. The complexity of both preemptive and nonpreemptive cases of the two-processor problem are studied. We show that the preemptive case is solvable in O(n log n) time. In the nonpreemptive case, we prove that the problem is NP-hard in the strong sense, which answers an open question mentioned in Hoogeveen, van de Velde, and Veltman (1994). An efficient heuristic is also developed for this case. The relative error of this heuristic is at most 100%. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 45: 231–242, 1998     

Scheduling deteriorating jobs to minimize makespan

We consider a single-machine problem of scheduling n independent jobs to minimize makespan, in which the processing time of job J_j grows by w_j with each time unit its start is delayed beyond a given common critical date d. This processing time is p_j if J_j starts by d. We show that this problem is NP-hard, give a pseudopolynomial algorithm that runs in time and O(nd) space, and develop a branch-and-bound algorithm that solves instances with up to 100 jobs in a reasonable amount of time. We also introduce the case of bounded deterioration, where the processing time of a job grows no further if the job starts after a common maximum deterioration date D > d. For this case, we give two pseudopolynomial time algorithms: one runs in O(n²d(D − d) time and O(nd(D − d)) space, the other runs in p_j)²) time and p_j) space. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 45: 511–523, 1998     

Probabilistic analysis of an asymptotically optimal solution for the completion time variance problem

Scheduling a set of n jobs on a single machine so as to minimize the completion time variance is a well‐known NP‐hard problem. In this paper, we propose a sequence, which can be constructed in O(n log n) time, as a solution for the problem. Our primary concern is to establish the asymptotical optimality of the sequence within the framework of probabilistic analysis. Our main result is that, when the processing times are randomly and independently drawn from the same uniform distribution, the sequence is asymptotically optimal in the sense that its relative error converges to zero in probability as n increases. Other theoretical results are also derived, including: (i) When the processing times follow a symmetric structure, the problem has 2^{⌊(n−1)/2⌋} optimal sequences, which include our proposed sequence and other heuristic sequences suggested in the literature; and (ii) when these 2^{⌊(n−1)/2⌋} sequences are used as approximate solutions for a general problem, our proposed sequence yields the best approximation (in an average sense) while another sequence, which is commonly believed to be a good approximation in the literature, is interestingly the worst. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 46: 373–398, 1999     

Scheduling multiple products on parallel machines with setup costs

We consider a class of production scheduling models with m identical machines in parallel and k different product types. It takes a time p_i to produce one unit of product type i on any one of the machines. There is a demand stream for product type i consisting of n_i units with each unit having a given due date. Before a machine starts with the production of a batch of products of type i a setup cost c is incurred. We consider several different objective functions. Each one of the objective functions has three components, namely a total setup cost, a total earliness cost, and a total tardiness cost. In our class of problems we find a relatively large number of problems that can be solved either in polynomial time or in pseudo‐polynomial time. The polynomiality or pseudo‐polynomiality is achieved under certain special conditions that may be of practical interest; for example, a regularity pattern in the string of due dates combined with earliness and tardiness costs that are similar for different types of products. The class of models we consider includes as special cases discrete counterparts of a number of inventory models that have been considered in the literature before, e.g., Wagner and Whitin (Manage Sci 5 (1958), 89–96) and Zangwill (Oper Res 14 (1966), 486–507; Manage Sci 15 (1969), 506–527). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008     

一种用于SpaceWire网络的混合路由机制设计*

针对星上系统总线多元性导致的星载网络接口和协议不能标准化的发展瓶颈,本文基于SpaceWire总线协议,通过将静态路由(时间触发)与动态路由(事件触发)机制结合,实现了控制数据和载荷数据共用网络。静态路由完全遵循SpaceWire-D协议,在保证确定性传输的同时,通过启发式调度算法首次实现了多时间窗并行调度,并提出利用最大公约数法设计时间窗,以提高网络吞吐量；动态路由通过对随机事件和载荷数据分配优先级,实现传输路径冲突时对紧急任务的优先处理。最后在OPENT中搭建网络系统仿真模型,对所提出的路由机制进行了仿真。实验结果表明,静态路由时段网络吞吐量较现有调度算法有明显提高,动态路由实现了紧急事件优先传输。     

集中控制混合网络中基于流的资源分配算法

集中控制混合网络中,异构化网络内部的流量具有一定的规律和特性,如果使用原有的单一的离散式最大极值和无状态的网络资源调度算法,忽略了异构网络规律,会造成网络利用率较低、易震荡、部分网络流延迟等问题。通过分析由集中控制网络和普通网络组成的混合网络的拓扑结构,对混合网络结构中常见问题如流闪现、不能估计的流、路径堵塞或连接震荡场景进行分析,并提出基于期望和状态的流量评价资源规划算法POS和POS-FME。算法考虑混合网络的运行状态,对系统可用资源进行评估,为系统中各种流匹配对应可用资源,并具有一定的预测作用,从而避免混合网络出现运行效率低下的场景。通过实验,POS算法和POS-FME算法相对传统算法,利用率提高了10%～30%,并降低了震荡和平均延迟。